Dearborn Partners LLC Decreases Holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. $AWK

Dearborn Partners LLC decreased its holdings in American Water Works Company, Inc. (NYSE:AWK) by 20.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 142,142 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 36,797 shares during the period. Dearborn Partners LLC’s holdings in American Water Works were worth $18,550,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of AWK. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works in the fourth quarter worth about $337,004,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in shares of American Water Works by 383.0% in the third quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 2,596,125 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $361,355,000 after purchasing an additional 2,058,656 shares in the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its stake in shares of American Water Works by 38.0% in the fourth quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 2,386,873 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $311,487,000 after purchasing an additional 657,849 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of American Water Works by 2.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,227,049 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,650,543,000 after purchasing an additional 597,916 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. purchased a new position in shares of American Water Works in the fourth quarter worth about $69,855,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of American Water Works from $137.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $131.00 target price on shares of American Water Works in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of American Water Works from $122.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. UBS Group upgraded shares of American Water Works from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $137.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of American Water Works from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Sunday, April 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $138.11.

American Water Works Price Performance

AWK stock opened at $124.63 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $129.73 and a 200-day moving average of $130.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. American Water Works Company, Inc. has a 12 month low of $120.57 and a 12 month high of $147.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.62.

American Water Works (NYSE:AWK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.10 by ($0.09). American Water Works had a net margin of 21.17% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The firm had revenue of $1.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.05 earnings per share. American Water Works’s revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. American Water Works has set its FY 2026 guidance at 6.020-6.120 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that American Water Works Company, Inc. will post 6.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

American Water Works Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.895 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 12th. This is a boost from American Water Works’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.58 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. American Water Works’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.48%.

American Water Works Company Profile

American Water Works Company, Inc (NYSE: AWK) is a publicly traded utility company that provides water and wastewater services in the United States. Its core business is the operation, management and maintenance of regulated water and wastewater systems that deliver potable water, collect and treat wastewater, and provide related customer services to residential, commercial and industrial customers as well as municipalities. The company’s operations include water treatment and distribution, wastewater collection and treatment, meter reading and billing, emergency repairs, and long-term infrastructure planning and capital project execution.

In addition to its regulated utility operations, American Water offers complementary nonregulated services and solutions that support system reliability and customer needs.